That depends on which cracker you are asking about. This was about 36% of all the recorded cracker s in the usa. Back in the day, the term cracker jack could refer to anything of high quality, so its no wonder the name stuck. Crackerjack definition of crackerjack by merriamwebster. It is also borne by the actor jack nicholson 1937 and the golfer jack nicklaus 1940. The actual origin of the name is somewhat of a mystery.
Find 2,002 synonyms for crackerjack and other similar words that you can use instead based on 5 separate contexts from our thesaurus. A brief history about cracker jack street directory. A cracker jack by any other name the rueckheim brothers first started selling molassescoated popcorn at the worlds columbian exposition in 1893, and it was an immediate smash hit. Crackerjack was the highestgrossing australian film of the year and received two afi award nominations, for direction paul moloney and the screenplay by mick and brother richard molloy. Cracker jack got its name from a salesman who tried cracker jack for the first time. In chicago, there are 2 legends of how crackerjacks originated. Legend has it that the name cracker jack came from a customer who upon trying the treat exclaimed that really a cracker jack.
To maintain a proper rhyme scheme, norworth lazily namechecked his favorite confection in the lyricsbuy me some peanuts and cracker jack. I was surprised to find that crackerjack is not australian in origin. Cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a racial slur used against white people, used especially against poor rural whites in the southern united states. All the way back to the age of shakespeare, at least. The term crackerbarrel was first used in 1916, and it emerged from the country stores of the era. My son is little and we either call him jack jack, cracker jack, or jumpin jack and valentines day photos they will work for now, until he gets a little older. I think they chose cracker jack prizes that symbolize wealth and. Supposedly a salesman gave it the name when he tasted some and said, thats a crackerjack, using the thenpopular expression. The us term crackerjack has had a complicated history. Association, along with several books cataloguing the prizes and discussing their history.
Animals brain teasers celebrities entertainment for children general knowledge geography history trivia hobbies humanities. Claire, a florida historian and anthropologist who studies, er, crackers. The phrase crackerbarrel was inspired by the barrels full of soda crackers that were for sale in the countrys country stores. Crackerjack entered english first as a noun referring to a person or thing of marked excellence, then as an adjective. It was used to refer to poor whites, particularly those. It is possible the name you are searching has less than five occurrences per year. The official company history, 50 years of cracker jack, does not discuss the development or introduction of prizes. A german immigrant named frederick william rueckheim started selling his unique popcorn treat. But it turns out crackers roots go back even further than the 17th century. The cracker jack label added the phrase a prize in every box in 1912, which may be the source of the confusion about the prize introduction date. American writers jack london 18761916 and jack kerouac 19221969 were two famous bearers of this name.
Cracker jack caramelcoated popcorn and peanuts was, according to company lore, named by salesman john berg, who exclaimed upon first trying the product. Still the box has the familiar sailor boy saluting us with his trusty dog by his side. The cracker jack name and slogan, the more you eat the more you want. John even has a theory why the specific player tokens were chosen. Illinois had the highest population of cracker families in 1840. You may also know cracker jack as a snack of candied popcorn and peanuts. History of the cracker jack company madeinchicago museum. Jack has been used for man since the mid1500s, as in jackofalltrades. Sailor jack on the cracker jack box was a real boy from. Game show sells some antique cracker jack prizes and, sure enough, the toy car is exactly the same as the monopoly car. Sailor jacks dog bingo was based on a real dog named russell, a stray adopted in 1917 by henry eckstein. We call my brother jamie, jman, jack, jacksamillion, and action jackson.
He is a real cracker jack when it comes to getting people to bid. Even more significantly, the central daytoday control of the business was finally handed off to the second generation, including fred rueckheim, jr. What is the name of the cracker jack s mascot and his dog. According to corporate lore, an early form of cracker jack was introduced in 1893 at the worlds columbian exposition, chicagos first worlds fair, by the candymaking firm of f. Crackerjack dictionary definition crackerjack defined. Legend has it that the name cracker jack came from a customer who, upon trying. Cracker jack started in 1871 on the streets of chicago. The knuckle, wrist, or ankle bones astragals of goats, jacks, game of great antiquity and worldwide distribution, now played with stones, bones, seeds, filled cloth bags, or metal or plastic counters the jacks, with or without a ball.
In 1840 there were 4 cracker families living in illinois. Websters new world college dictionary, 4th edition. Actually the words cracker jack was a slang expression on those days, meaning something very pleasing or excellent. This is more likely to have been the origin of the name. In order to understand the cracker jack origin story we need to know more about its unique history. It was a mixture of popcorn, peanuts, and molasses. Got its name cracker jack from a salesman who exclaimed thats a crackerjack. Crackerjack definition, a person or thing that shows marked ability or excellence. The caramelcoated popcornandpeanuts confection was said to have been introduced at the worlds columbian exposition 1893. What is the name of the cracker jacks mascot and his dog. Coal cracker is from 1853 of persons, 1857 of machinery that breaks up mined coal. Crackerjack definition and meaning collins english. The meaning of the word has changed a lot over the last four centuries, said dana ste.
It would also shed the now offputting germanness of its name rueckheim brothers was over, and the cracker jack company was born. What is the origin of the brand names saran wrap and oral b. A term in southeastern united states english to describe poor white trash, derived from the scottish meaning of the verb to crack, which, in this sense denotes ostentation. Wikipedia cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a usually racist disparaging term for white people, especially poor rural whites in the southern united states. Apart from nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name jack at birth. Historically the site has been associated with the green valley mining district which is now part of the tonto national forest. When someone says wow heshe is a real cracker jack. By 1908, shortly before the last time the cubs won the world series, jack norworth. Cracker jack is an american brand of snack food consisting of molassesflavored, caramelcoated popcorn and peanuts, well known for being packaged with a prize of trivial value inside. Some believe rueckheim may have come up with the name himself and sold people on the story. Meaning, origin and history of the name jack behind the name. Its sold in oldschool boxes which come in a three pack and although the primary consumers are young children, its invariably located on the top shelf of the supermarket isle. History of navy crackerjack uniform navy cracker jack uniform navy sailor uniform costume, provide an extensive uniform history of the navy, maritime services.
The cracker jack mine is a underground mining operation. History of popcorn and cracker jacks, whats cooking america. The cracker jack name and slogan, the more you eat the more you want, were registered in 1896. Cracker barrel 1861 barrel full of sodacrackers for sale was such a common feature of old country stores that the phrase came to be used by 1905 as an adjective, emblematic of downhome ways and. The sailor boy image acquired such meaning for the founder of cracker jack that he had it carved on his tombstone, which can still be seen in st. Cracker jack caramelcoated popcorn and peanuts was, according to. Meaning instrument for crushing or cracking is from 1630s. Listen to linze rice describe the chicago history of cracker jack. The cracker family name was found in the usa, the uk, canada, and scotland between 1840 and 1920. Sailor jacks dog bingo was based on a reallife dog named russell, a stray adopted in 1917 by henry eckstein, who demanded that the dog be used on the packaging. Cracker jack mine near payson, arizona the diggings. However, crackerjack was also a slang expression at that time that meant something very pleasing or excellent and that is more likely to have been the origin of the name. In fact, theres also a candlestick, which seems to be the model for the one in clue. Cracker jack and the colonies i learned from a friend, correctly, that crackerjacks got their name from the snack food that features a sailor on the box.
It is sometimes used in a neutral context in reference to a native of florida or georgia see florida cracker and georgia cracker. Its source is advertisements for the cracker jack snack, which from 1916 began to feature a uniformed sailor jack and his dog bingo and the term was taken up by us navy sailors themselves. Definition of crackerjack from the collins english dictionary. What is the name of the cracker jacks mascot and his dog trivia question questions answer answers. Cracker, the old standby of anglo insults was first noted in the mid 18th century, making it older than the united states itself. Crackerjack synonyms, crackerjack antonyms merriam. Crackerjack definition of crackerjack by the free dictionary.
Social security administration public data, the first name crackerjack was not present. The name derives from chackstonesstones to be tossed. Why the monopoly player pieces thimble, top hat, etc. Slang a person or thing of recognized excellence 2. Who invented cracker jack, the classic popcorn snack. A tasty treat consisting of popcorn, peanuts and a caramel candy coating. As the brothers loved the name cracker jack, they received a trademark for it under f. In 1896 the name cracker jack was officially registered before then the snack had been called candied popcorn and peanuts and the familiarly sticky and sweet candy we know today was born. In chicago, there are 2 legends of how cracker jacks originated. When louis gave the popcorn to him, he yelled, cracker jack. The most cracker families were found in the usa in 1880. In 1896 the name cracker jack was officially registered before then the snack had been called candied popcorn and peanuts and the familiarly.